From minutes to miles

Bungy Girl wrote: »

Yeah, there's usually a bit of a discrepancy between the two, especially at the shorter distances. I find the VDOT more accurate personally. Either way it's sub-15 though, can't argue with that

Haha you're a tough taskmaster.....I don't think we'd even collected our goodie bags before you were talking about a sub 39 for 5 mile

Murph_D wrote: »

This is big, and probably the start of something even bigger, I suspect.

Tell your pacer FBOT could do with a few more "lady pacers" at parkrun pacer day, by the way.

Very well done. That's two Terenure 2015 PBs shattered anyway.

I don't know if I was just tired reading your post last night but I have a vision in my head of that first line being said in the film trailer voice-over speak! Thanks D, hopefully more to come. Excited to pick some more targets now.

I'll pass on your message to the pacer extraordinaire, do you need a messenger because you're being ignored for eating all the lion bars?

Monday: 35 mins easy, 3.3 miles @ 10:36

Went for some easy miles. Legs were feeling the effort from Raheny, quads were sore during the day in work and there was a bit of tightness on the inside of my right thigh during the run. Felt a bit creaky on this in general so just kept it nice and easy. Weather was miserable, horrible wind. Run seemed to do the trick anyway, legs felt much better waking up on Tuesday.

Tuesday: Rest

Wednesday: Football

Thursday: Pilates

Friday: 45 minutes easy, 4.48 miles @ 10:03

Runmute into work, felt good on this. Got a shout out from a passing cyclist that turned out to be aquinn. Caught up at the next lights so had a quick chat before heading on. Nice way to start the day, I do like running in the mornings.

Saturday: parkrun - 30:23

Bit of parkrun tourism today, headed to Poppintree for a change. Lovely park and a nice flat route. Seemed to be a good crowd there. Most importantly did this in the company of Annapr and aquinn on her parkrun comeback. Lovely to run and catch up as usual but best of all to see aquinn back out and running well. Obligatory coffee after back in a nearby Glasnevin establishment, nice to be back around my old stomping ground.

Sunday: 90 mins easy, 8.63 miles @ 10:25

More parkrun, more Annapr company. Volunteered at the inaugural junior parkrun, great to see such a turnout and lots of faces from these parts and parkrun there in a volunteer capacity or with their own kids. Well done to the team making it happen. Annapr was there too so after the obligatory parkrun coffee (I'm sensing a pattern) we headed off for our own run. What a spectacular day to be out and about but for running in particular. Cool in the shade still but there was some heat off the sun as well, spring was definitely in the air and emerging through the ground in the form of budding plants. Started off in the park, headed out down the seafront passing Ferrisb bouncing along, down the Bull Wall and out along the beach for a change. The views around the water were beautiful and heading back out through the causeway you could be anywhere, hard to believe the city centre is just a few kilometres away. Back into the park for another few miles, both of us starting to feel the effort in the legs but nattering away the time passed quickly enough. Home to devour a bagel and scrambled egg that I'd been thinking of since about mile 5!

19.49 miles for the week, a little bit less than usual due to the short recovery run replacing the Monday session. Usual cycling as well so a decent week overall with the pilates and football back too.

Monday: Rest

Tuesday: 4.55 miles including intervals

A trip to the dentist and a filling meant I pushed the session out to Tuesday. Not ideal with football on the Wednesday but I did this before work giving 36 hours between the two. Couldn't face the thought of doing it straight after getting up, I quite like running before work but sessions at 6:30/7am don't appeal. Cycled to the office which gave me a chance to wake, and warm up, before doing this on a local loop near work which had the added benefit of being bright by the time I started. Session was 3 x 4 minutes at hard pace (7:37) and I was jogging 5 minutes recovery between each. Good morning for it, I noticed on the cycle in that the water was completely still.

With one eye on my upcoming 2 mile race assault I decided to see if I could knock an extra few seconds off the pace with anything a bit closer to 7:30 an added bonus for the morning. Definitely found this tough and the full 5 minutes recovery were welcome, job done.

1 mile w/u
7:33, 7:29, 7:33
1 mile c/d

Wednesday: Football

No ill effects in the legs and for the first time I felt I was noticing a quickening in my pace when breaking forward or tracking back.

Thursday: Pilates

Friday: 45:08 mins easy, 4.5 miles @ 10:02

Runmute into work, a swap in work hours meant I was up at 6 for this which was a slog getting up but enjoyable once I got going. 45 mins even would have had me finish at 4.49 miles so the extra seconds were obligatory. Body feeling the tough pilates session the day before with plenty of plank and core work, any laughing was agony! Could feel it in the run today.

Saturday: 90 mins easy, 9.15 miles @ 9:50 (including parkrun in 29:08)

My longest run since coming back after the PF (I really am building up slowly ) and also rocking a bit of a hangover. Weekend commitments meant this was the best window for my longer run so did 35 minutes before parkrun with PJD and then 25 minutes solo again after. It should have been 60 minutes before parkrun but I was slow getting up. Definitely did parkrun a bit quicker than the easy pace for the rest of the run but chatting around meant it wasn't very noticeable. The first 2/3's of the 25 minutes solo was a bit of a slog by comparison, weather was cold and starting to rain, I was starving and starting to feel a bit tired. Thoughts of brack and tea kept me going! Stomach muscles still reminding me about pilates.

Sunday: 40 mins easy, 3.93 miles @ 10:11

No love for the thoughts of this one. Left it late as we were going to the homestead for dinner so I decided to run back home the long way afterwards. Looking at the worsening weather throughout the day and a full tummy after a Sunday roast dinner had me dreading a run for the first time in a long while. As so often happens though once I got going it wasn't as bad as expected and luckily the rain had stopped, although the wind was a struggle in parts.

22.12 miles for the week and plenty of cycling too.

Monday: Rest

Tuesday: 30 mins easy, 3 miles inc strides

Overall pace was 10 m/m but the 6 x 10/12 second strides brought the average down a bit. Swapped the week around due to a planned 2 mile race on Wednesday so no session and this as a day before shake out. Up before work to do this first thing so I could rest the legs a bit that evening.

Wednesday: 2 mile Raheny race

After a 15:17 PB at the end of August the target of sub 15 before the end of the year was thrown out. With one thing or another I didn't get to put that to the test so with the Raheny winter series well underway this was penciled in the diary since the start of the year. BG had previously offered to help pace me to the sub 15 if needed but with the 5 mile only a few weeks ago I decided to do this one under my own steam. I do know I can push myself but I was wary of falling into a habit of having someone else pace, and push me, if I became reliant on it with races in quick succession.

Jogged down to the clubhouse to register and met up with annapr who was partaking as well. Did a little loop of the course then together and included some strides. Weather was good, bit of a breeze in places but not too strong or cold either. Was thrown a bit when registering as we had to put down a predicted target time. Could hear people talking about no watches and handicaps so thought it was one where they stagger it based on predictions and then it's naked racing. Turned out this wasn't the case and my nerves were running ahead of themselves - everyone lined up with their watches :rolleyes:

Plan was to go through the first lap at 7:29ish, keep at that pace for the drag on the Howth Road and then try and pick up it up if possible or chase someone. Once we started I tried not to tear off but to slow a bit and settle into the pace. I settled into a little trio of women and up ahead pulled away was a group of 4. I recognised the two women beside me and knew I would need to be ahead of them to hit my target. I was caught in two minds whether to stay for this more exposed bit or push on knowing I would be quite isolated. Decided I didn't want to fall behind from the start so pushed on. Got through the first turn away from the drag and the pace naturally picked up. I know this course like the back of my hand so this section flew past and before I knew it we were taking the turn for the halfway stretch. Checking in with my watch on occasion and I could see the pace was about right and the group ahead were more stretched out and gradually coming back to me so focused on that. Got some good shout outs here from a couple of parkrun faces and also Mr._ac3 and BG who had come down to offer support, she shouted I was on pace and to stick at that. First mile was called at 7:23, it seemed to have gone past ridiculously quickly.

Back on the Howth Road I was faced with the same dilemma as before. The back runner in the mini group was just ahead. I figured if I'd managed to catch him he was slowing so I probably couldn't afford to stay with him and I should push on. He offered me encouragement as I went past, all I could do was a little hand lift and a nod. Set my focus and the next two ahead, yellow t-shirt and red t-shirt. Gradually closed them down and turning through the downhill off the Howth Road I pulled up just behind yellow. He was just catching up on red and I took my chance to pass between the two of them and I kicked on. I know red from parkrun but again I said nothing (when I said it after he said it was ok, if I had I would have probably got silence back ). That left the last person from the original mini group and she was a good bit ahead. I could see from the average pace on the watch that I was still on target so tried to just pick it up bit by bit here.

Going through the last turn I think I was resigned to the fact I wasn't going to catch her but tried to close the gap and try get as much under my target as I could. I could hear someone pretty close behind me so I was more determined not to let them pass or look to see the who or where of the chase. Plenty of encouragement again, lots of ironic "you got this", including from annapr who unfortunately wasn't able to race with a sore back. Crossed the line in 14:42 official time so absolutely delighted with that. Turns out my chaser was the first man from the Howth Road, gave each other a shake of the hand when we finished. A mile cool down and then back to the clubhouse. The woman ahead of me finished 4 seconds in front, had a quick chat with her over a cuppa. I've been wondering since if I could I have made up that difference if I'd been a bit braver and pushed sooner or was it too much? The racing part of races is still fairly new to me so I'm not sure, still lots to learn and practice there. Hence the waffly race reports, I think the details can help for future races.

Total of 5.6 miles. Splits for the race on the watch were 7:26 and 7:16 but the second mile was .98 on the watch.

Thursday: AM - Pilates, PM - 45 mins easy, 4.36 miles @ 10:20

Swapped my usual rest day to do an easy run today. Calf and hamstrings a bit tight but a very enjoyable run. Played the route by ear and tried to find a new loop, discovered a perfect 45 mins through Clontarf for a change.

Friday: Rest

Saturday: 35 mins easy, 3.52 miles @ 9:56

It was touch and go if this run was going to happen. Spent most of the day in a zombie like daze after a late work night out. The alcohol played no part though, obviously :cool: Didn't want an unplanned rest day and finally felt human enough in the later afternoon to get out. As it happened the weather was lovely, some heat off the sun and I felt super fresh and didn't realise I was going at that pace at the time.....unexpected.

Sunday: 95 mins easy, 9.33 miles @ 10:11

Another New Record - Longest Run triumphantly announced by my Garmin. Left the house, headed to and around bits of St. Anne's, back out onto the coast and down to the seafront and out the Bull Wall. Down the beach which was looking nice in that bleak weather kind of way, back up on the coast and into the park at Watermill Road and home along some of the trails/grass.

25.82 miles for the week including one PB, usual cycling and pilates.

annapr wrote: »

laura_ac3 wrote: »

25.82 miles for the week including one PB, usual cycling and pilates.

Ah how casually you dropped that in there....

It wasn't casual at all, it was preceeded by a waffly race report!!! glad to see your back is on the mend.